Ballet Drama ‘Flesh And Bone’ Gets Series Order At Starz, Casts Lead

Starz has picked its next original series, giving a series order to drama Flesh and Bone, created/executive produced by Moira Walley-Beckett (Breaking Bad) and executive produced by Lawrence Bender, Kevin Brown and John Melfi. The green light comes after an extensive nationwide search involving thousands of hopefuls resulted in the casting of dancer Sarah Hay (Black Swan) in the lead role. Flesh And Bone follows a young ballet dancer, Claire (Hay), who has a distinctly troubled past, as she joins a prestigious ballet company in New York. The dark and gritty series will unflinchingly explore the dysfunction and glamour of the ballet world. “From the beginning, we all agreed this project could not go forward unless we found a world class dancer who had the ability to convey the widest range of emotions that Moira has written,” sais Starz CEO Chris Albrecht. “This is one of the most challenging and dynamic characters I have even seen and am thrilled to say we found our Claire in Ms. Hay.” Added Moira Walley-Beckett, “Sarah Hay embodies the role of Claire just as I dreamt her.”

Flesh and Bone had been on the fast track, picking up speed in November when the project locked in four accomplished dancers for supporting roles, former American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Irina Dvorovenko, current American Ballet Theatre soloist Sascha Radetsky (Center Stage), Ballet Arizona company dancer Raychel Diane Weiner, and Emily Tyra (Boardwalk Empire). Additionally, Ethan Stiefel, star of the movies Center Stage and Center Stage: Turn It Up, joined the project as consultant and choreographer. Then in December, Starz pulled out of its commitment to Sky Atlantic’s upcoming drama series Fortitude when its production schedule no longer guaranteed a delivery for Q4 of 2014. Starz indicated it would fill the spot with internally developed projects, with Flesh and Bone among the frontrunner. The slot is still up for grabs as Flesh and Bone will need more time and is slated for 2015, with production scheduled to begin in New York City in early 2014. Among the other candidates, Survivor’s Remorse, exec produced by LeBron James, has been picking up heat, with some preliminary casting already underway. Walley-Beckett, Bender and Brown all have strong connections to the ballet world. Bender and UTA-repped Walley-Beckett are former ballet dancers, and Brown’s family is made up entirely of former ballet dancers and was the basis for the 1977 feature The Turning Point.

13 Comments

Survivor’s Remorse is great, though. O’Malley wrote an excellent script. I would say it’s a shoo-in, but Albrecht seems to not be so fond of making logical decisions.

Kelly • on Jan 26, 2014 3:59 pm

I find a lot of Starz programming to be more style than substance, but I’m still excited to see this one.

Former Network Flack • on Jan 26, 2014 3:59 pm

BLACK SWAN the series. Hope Albrecht doesn’t choke on this one.

Eye-Fi • on Jan 26, 2014 3:59 pm

This is destined to be a camp classic. Starz should have stuck with Boss.

Dr. Vegas • on Jan 26, 2014 3:59 pm

This was only ordered because of the Breaking Bad connection.

Mr. Pib • on Jan 26, 2014 3:59 pm

MWB is a force. Vince Gilligan has known this for some time, and her talent is again apparent 10 pages into the pilot. This show is going to blow everyone away.

Mr Hanky • on Jan 26, 2014 3:59 pm

Crickets. A gritty ballet series from one of the producers of Roswell? Starz, you’ve found your next Magic City.

milkshake • on Jan 26, 2014 3:59 pm

Really excited about this. One of the 5 or so drama pilots that have me stoked.

JuanEribe • on Jan 26, 2014 3:59 pm

What’s the best case scenario here? Wasn’t Bunheads a critically adored show about ballerinas that just went belly up because there’s no audience for shows about fictional ballerinas? Is there some significant portion of the population who desperately wants to watch a ballerina show, but Bunheads just wasn’t for them?

I realize two shows with similar a premises can have wildly different outcomes, but “ballet” is a pretty niche universe, and a GREAT swing at that pitch just resulted in a serious loss of money, zero awards, and cancellation.

This is dumb.

Westwood Watcher • on Jan 26, 2014 3:59 pm

Unlike Bunheads, this is adult stuff and filled with the requisite Starz nudity and sex, I’ve read the script, but you’re right about the niche milieu and the whole things feels like a Black Swan rip off.

Jj • on Jan 26, 2014 3:59 pm

They should have cast an actress in the lead and not a dancer…. Hard to imagine someone with zero acting experience carrying a show.

MH • on Jan 26, 2014 3:59 pm

Actually, I think Sarah Hay will carry this show quite nicely. I’ve taken her class before and she’s a friend of a good friend. As someone who’s taken classes from various names in the ballet world, Sarah stood out instantly with her dynamic, confident speaking, and her down-to-earth attitude. She has worked extensively with the prominent choreographer William Forsythe, and she brought his alternative movement styles to our class. She pushed us to really move with purpose and emotion instead of dry technique, and she was a perfect example of that herself.
Acting ability is often what separates a dancer from the pack, propelling them to rank higher in their career.
I know I don’t have any experience in the TV world, but as anyone with experience in the dance world knows, the best dancers are also great at acting.